


No More Tears

by sharpiesgal (TigerLily)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Ending Relationship, Hate Sex, Love/Hate, M/M, Male Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-22
Updated: 2013-08-22
Packaged: 2017-12-24 07:44:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/937362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerLily/pseuds/sharpiesgal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After another trivial argument, Tony and Steve come to the realization that they are better off as friends than as lovers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No More Tears

**Author's Note:**

> I still don't know where this came from. Only that I had to write and get it out of my head.

“You want him.”

Tony pulled his gaze from the brightly lit Manhattan skyline and quietly regarded Steve before deigning to answer him. “Is that so,” he murmured. He then returned his attention to the view absently taking a sip from the drink he had made upon returning from their dinner date. Ice clinked in the glass and he grimaced at the watered down taste of the scotch.

“You’re not denying it.”

“Am I suppose to?”

“Yes,” Steve snapped. He was annoyed with Tony’s nonchalant attitude. His lover had turned what could have been a nice evening into a childish game of one up man ship.

“Listen, Cupcake,” Tony growled finally giving Steve his complete attention. “The only one here who has a hard on for Barnes is you.”

“He was my best friend when we were growing up, you fucking asshole,” Steve found himself retorting.

Tony snorted. He finished his drink and walked over to the bar to refill his glass. “I’m not drunk enough to be that charming.”

“I wouldn’t call what you did at dinner charming,” Steve countered. He had followed Tony to the bar settling on the stool on Tony’s right side. He caught hold of Tony’s wrist preventing him from tossing back his drink. He didn’t like it when Tony hid behind his alcoholic persona.

“I would call it entertaining myself,” Tony retorted with a smirk that belied the simmering rage that had been building inside him since meeting James Barnes. Steve’s best friend from childhood was a smug bastard and had rubbed Tony the wrong way from the very beginning. “And, you’ve got five seconds to let go of me.”

“Or what?”

Tony knew he couldn’t beat Steve in a fair fight. His lover was taller and stronger, but Tony rarely if ever fought fair. “I punch you in the balls, and while you rolling on the floor in the pain I finish my drink and go to bed.”

Steve let go of Tony’s wrist knowing Tony would follow through with his threat. “Enjoy sleeping in your lab,” he grounded out before sliding off the stool and angrily walking out of the room.

“Like fuck I’m sleeping in the lab,” Tony snarled at his reflection in the mirror behind the bar. He slammed back his drink and stormed into their bedroom.

*&*

Steve’s head snapped up when he heard the bedroom door slam open. He finished getting ready for bed while warily watching Tony as the other man kicked the door shut and stalked toward him. 

“No one dictates my actions in my home!” Tony snarled as he invaded Steve’s personal space.

“Then you shouldn’t act like a fucking dick outside of it,” Steve quietly remarked in the face of Tony’s anger.

“Fuck you, you sanctimonious prick!”

Steve rolled his eyes and turned away from Tony not in the mood to continue such a trivial argument.

“You don’t get to ignore me,” Tony growled before launching himself at Steve pushing the other man onto the bed.

They landed on the bed in a tangle of limbs and Steve tried to free himself, but Tony managed to pin him to the bed. He straddled Steve’s thighs and leaned down smashing their mouths together in a savage kiss.

Steve wrenched his head away while grabbing hold of Tony’s arms and flipping the billionaire onto his back pinning him to the bed. “I hate you,” he growled finally letting his anger off its leash.

“Feeling’s mutual, Cupcake,” Tony grunted as he tried to reverse their positions. “Now, get off me!”

“I should make you finish what you started,” Steve countered rubbing his covered erection against Tony’s.

Tony swore and tried to knee Steve only to find himself completely pinned under the former soldier.

Steve leaned down and bit his way toward Tony’s ear where he whispered, “Or maybe I should get you all worked up and leave you wanting while I go see if Bucky is as good in bed as Clint claims.”

Tony stopped struggling and tried to catch his breath both surprised and hurt by what Steve had said. “Do it and you can find somebody else to stick your All-American dick into,” he retorted.

Steve leaned back and looked into Tony’s eyes finally seeing the pain hiding under the barely banked rage. It was a kick in the chest to see the amount pain he had caused and he let go of Tony’s arms. He rolled off and flopped onto his back next to Tony with a mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

Tony laid there for several long minutes debating on whether he should accept Steve’s apology which would inevitably lead to another argument and possibly more hate sex or if he should just walk away now and consider himself fortunate to keep Steve as a friend.

A third option of running as far and as fast as he could reared its ugly head when Steve rolled to face Tony. Tony knew it was a coward’s way out, but at that moment he really couldn’t give a fuck. He didn’t deal well with emotions. They always tripped him up, so he moved to get out of bed before saying something else he couldn’t take back only stopping when he felt Steve’s hand on his shoulder.

“Stay. We can work this out,” Steve softly pleaded.

“I can’t do this right now,” Tony replied shrugging Steve’s hand from his shoulder. It was all he could do not to curl into himself and hide.

“Why not?”

“Aren’t you tired of us always fighting?” Tony deflected shoving his emotions behind a cool façade as he turned to face Steve. “I know I am.” 

“Yes,” Steve answered doing his best to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. The feeling he got whenever Tony talked about breaking up with him. “But, I love you.”

Tony let out a bitter chuckle. “Ten minutes ago you hated me so much you were willing to go fuck your childhood best friend to get back at me for a perceived slight.”

“Damnit,” Steve groaned burying his face in his hands. He didn’t want Tony to be right, but the genius was. They were better off apart since together they did more harm to each other than good. “You’re right.”

“I’m not overjoyed at the prospect myself,” Tony tried to quip, but his ability to make a joke out of any bad situation failed him this time.

“Must you joke at a time like this?” Steve asked looking up and seeing the anguish Tony stopped trying to hide.

“Do I look amused?”

“No,” Steve sighed. “No, you don’t.”

“We had a good run,” Tony began leaving the bed to lean against the dresser in an attempt to put some distance between them. “Second longest relationship I ever had.”

“Tony...”

“No, Steve. This is for the best. I’d rather keep you as a friend than constantly fight with you as a lover.”

“Can we remain friends?”

“I want to think so.”

“So this is it?”

Tony nodded. “You can stay in here tonight. I’ll go sleep on the couch.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Are you certain?”

Tony walked over and cupped Steve’s face. He placed a soft kiss on Steve’s forehead. “Yes, I am,” he murmured and then he left the room.

*&*

Steve watched Tony leave knowing sleep would evade him. He had come to rely on Tony being beside him at night to help keep the nightmares at bay. It would take some time before he would be able to sleep by himself again.

With a tired sigh, he got out of bed and went to check on Tony praying that the genius hadn’t decided to drink himself into oblivion in order to get some rest.

*&*

Tony tossed and turned on the couch unable to find a comfortable position which would let him fall asleep. He sighed and sat up. It was going to be awhile before he could fall asleep by himself again.

He was reaching for his tablet he had left on the coffee table earlier in the day when he felt the couch dip.

“You don’t have to sleep out here, Tony,” Steve quietly said. “You can come and curl up with me in your bed.”

“We just broke up and you want me to sleep with you?” Tony asked not bothering to look up from his tablet.

“It wouldn’t be the first time you slept with an ex,” Steve reasoned having witnessed on several occasions where Tony had curled up next to Pepper after a long day and had fallen asleep on her shoulder.

“I think you mean slept on than with,” Tony countered with a tired sigh.

“And you argue for argument’s sake.”

“Noticed that, did you?” Tony quietly retorted as he returned his tablet to the coffee table and leaned back to look Steve in the eye.

“One of the first things I noticed about you.”

“Ouch.”

“Your twisted sense of humor was the second thing I noticed.”

“Huh,” Tony snorted in derision. He had nothing to say that would counter that, so for once he remained quiet.

Steve softly smiled. It wasn’t often that Tony was at a loss for words, so he decided to take advantage of it. He held out his hand and said, “Come on. Let’s go to bed and get some rest. It’s been a very long day.”

“It has at that,” Tony agreed.

“So?”

Tony caught hold of Steve’s hand and let the other man pull him to his feet. “Just so we’re clear,” he said as he followed Steve back into the bedroom and got into bed with him. “I’m not always going to be around to be your teddy bear.”

“Shut up, Tony and go to sleep,” Steve muttered as he reached out to turn off the bedside lamp.

Tony softly chuckled and curled up behind Steve finally able to let go and fall asleep.

Fin


End file.
